1. Field of the Invention
The present invention resides in the field of rain gutters and more particularly relates to a cover member for a rain gutter for preventing debris, such as pine needles, leaves and other debris, from entering the rain gutter by directing such debris to flow over the rain gutter while still allowing rainwater to flow into the rain gutter.
2. History of the Prior Art
Rain gutters are found on houses, particularly roofs, and are used for the removal of water. During the course of removing water, rain gutters frequently become clogged with leaves and other debris which block the flow of water through the gutters.
Problems associated with clogged rain gutters are inhibited water drainage, breakage of the gutter system due to increased load to gutters from the weight of the collected debris, and expensive repairs to house and gutters. Overflow water from a backed up gutter system can freeze in the winter, resulting in water damage to the home and structural damage to the gutter braces and surrounding house surfaces.
Olson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,264 has addressed the above described problems by utilizing a screen for collecting debris. The weakness of this invention lies in its inherent collection method. As a collector of pine needles and other debris, the screen becomes covered with debris which needs to be manually cleared periodically.
Another proposed solution is a solid deflector-type unit instead of a screen collector-type device. A solid deflector also exhibits inherent problems such as allowing leaves, pine needles and other debris to resist following the contours of the deflector system. This problem is related to water surface tension. Thus leaves and other debris are allowed to block the gutter system while water is not sufficiently directed into the gutter system. Further, lighter debris, such as pine needles, become caught in the surface tension of the water, thereby becoming trapped in the gutter. These designs also require a system of additional clips, as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,604,837 to Beam and 6,735,907 to Stevens.